Ondo State Police Command has disclosed that some of the in EndBadGovernance protesters who were arrested on Saturday, among was the African Action Congress(AAC) governorship candidate for the November 16 gubernatorial election in the state, were members of cult groups and cyber crime perpetrators.
A statement by Public Relations Officer of the Command, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, a Superintendent of Police, made the claim on Sunday in reaction to the arrest of the peaceful protesters on Saturday, the last day of the nationwide protest tagged EndBadGovernance in Nigeria.
But a human right activist and lawyer, Tope Temokun, has faulted the Police’s claims, saying the formation was deliberately distorting facts.
The police stated that its officers on duty became suspicious that the peaceful protesters had been infiltrated by some person it described as toxic and could hijack the peaceful protest when the population of the protesters suddenly swelled at Police Officers Mess area.
According to the statement, those considered to be toxic among the protesters were arrested.
The statement reads inter alia: “It is worthy to mention that the group of 10 grudgingly accepted to go however, between NEPA Roundabout and Officers Mess the number swelled to about 50.
“Physical and intelligence assessment of the increasing crowd suggested the infiltration of malicious elements as efforts by the police team on ground to prevent these intruders resulted into the protesters becoming unruly.
“Additionally, passionate plea by the security forces to the protesters to move out of the road and allow free flow of traffic was rebuffed making the situation shy of a peaceful protest as right of other citizens were being infringed upon.
“As a responsible agency charged with maintenance of law and order, and for the safety of the protesters, toxic members of the group were moved to the State Criminal Investigations Department for onward assessment as to what could have triggered the infiltration of Ill-intended individuals into the protest.
“Investigations later revealed that the insignia on the beret of the Protesters had a resounding resemblance to that of the Aye Confraternity which attracted members and rival groups, on the heels of the above, further investigations suggested that certain members of the protesting group were suspectedly into cultism and cyber crime activities.
“In furtherance, the high-profile nature of some of the arrested suspects poses a significant security threat to the state and Nigeria at large.
“The arrested persons are being profiled in line with emerging facts and will soon be arraigned on conclusion of investigation.”
But human right activist and lawyer, Tope Temokun punctured the Police’s claims , saying “the Police release is a deliberate distortion of the true facts in order to give the dog a bad name to see to the possibility of sacrificing it.”
In a rejoinder to Police’s claims, Temokun writes: “In setting the record straight, it is imperative to expose the baseless allegations that the Nigerian Police Force is attempting to trade with in the public domain in what appears to be a calculation to court public support to justify their illegal acts.
“Contrary to the Ondo State Police Command’s claims, the TIB Movement did not seek the permission of the Commissioner of Police to hold the protest.
“The letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police on the 9th of August, 2024, merely informed the Nigeria Police Force of the protest and requested police presence as a gesture of guarantee of the peaceful nature of the protest.
“The issue of venue was not to take directives or orders from police on where the protesters must gather, but to extend hand of transparency to the police for both the protesters and the police to know the take off point. This letter was received by the Office of the Nigeria Police Force at 2:48 PM, not 5:30 PM as falsely claimed by the police.
“On the day of the protest, the TIB comrades gathered at NEPA Roundabout in Akure. Despite not receiving any further communication from the Commissioner of Police, they proceeded peacefully with their demonstration, carrying placards and banners clearly outlining their grievances.
“The protesters were later informed by a police officer, Inspector Monehin, that the Commissioner had approved Arcade Arena as the venue for the protest. In compliance with this information, the protesters began moving towards the designated venue under police escort.
“The Nigeria Police Force, in a desperate attempt to justify their unlawful actions, are now labouring to divert from the real issue and trying to manufacture imaginary offences like cultism, cybercrime and treasonable felony on the ground that the TIB Movement’s beret insignia looks like symbol of cultism.
“Funnily enough recently, the supporters of the governor of Ondo State, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa adopted red beret as campaign insignia and they have adorned the beret anywhere the governor went and the police have guarded those gatherings with the excitement.
“These accusations are not only absurd but also entirely unsubstantiated. They are red herring and smear campaign in the attempt to chop for explanations why they have to arrest peaceful protesters who did no harm to the public than merely exercising their constitutional rights.
“The logo of the TIB Movement bears no resemblance or affiliation to any cult group, and the use of the term “Revolution” which they are now also redefining to fit a narrative of treasonable felony, despite its legitimate and widely accepted use in the context of social and political change, is laughable, dry, uncreative, unintelligent and childish.”
Demanding immediate release of the arrested peaceful protesters, Temokun said the phantom incriminating claims of the police didn’t hold water.
He said: “The narrative being pushed by the police is disgraceful, unfounded and we are confident that the Nigeria Police Force has no single shred of evidence of those phantom incriminations against the arrested protesters and it is simply engaging in a smear campaign to steal into public opinion to appeal to public sympathy and silence dissent.
“We hereby demand the immediate and unconditional release of all seven members of the Take It Back Movement who are currently being unlawfully detained by the Ondo State Police Command.”
